Is It Illegal To Ban Online Casino Gambling From The United States?

In the ongoing huge battle that is waging in the United States in regards to online casino gambling it seems a large question is being posed as to whether the United States government actually performed an illegal act when they sought to prevent their citizens from gambling at online virtual casinos that are based in other countries. Even to go so far as to persecute and penalize the owners that operate these hugely popular websites have many people believing the U.S. gov’t has this time overstepped their bounds and there is a public outcry, as well as a great demand to have this legislation reversed and allow U.S. citizens to gamble at any online casino they choose to.

One particular nation that is a leading the revolt is Antigua and Barbuda, especially since the government’s shutdown three of the biggest online poker sites that were based there, but catered to people all over the world, including players from the United States.

The biggest argument is that the even though gambling in the United States at their land-based casinos is considered legal, not to mention there is state-regulated horse racing where people can gamble, again it is illegal for those operating online virtual casinos that are based in other countries, and this has now been banned and is punishable by law. These countries state that this act is illegal because how can they justify gambling in one format but not the other, and basically they’re clearly violating their rights under international law.

Ultimately this is what started the big fiasco with Full Tilt Poker because when the government shut them down and told them to pay out all their account holders, it turned out this big huge poker site did not have enough money to do so and their members were left holding the bag to the tune of over $600,000,000. Those in other countries were able to get their money out because their accounts were not frozen as they were in the United States, so unfortunately the people from this country took the biggest hit. Keeping in mind this was a rare occasion because most online virtual casinos are licensed and operate very fairly the gov’t still jumped all over it and said this was why it was so good to have the sites made illegal.

The right to gamble online is still up in the air for those in the United States, but no doubt the public will have its say in this.